Sunday, March 10, 2013

Spring skiing has sprung at Jay Peak

The DC, Sklinda and Jonny Jay ready for some warm temperatures and soft snow.

I am pleased to report that the spring skiing season is "on" at Jay Peak. Over this weekend we went from fully bundled up to tentative lighter layers. Jonny Jay shed his trademark down vest and by Saturday, some other brave souls even left their balaclavas in the locker.

To be honest, I didn't take many pictures. The snow coverage was excellent, the sun was shining and the March break crowds seemed to be dispersed all over the place. Thank God for the Waterpark and the Aerial Tramway!

Many guests spent their day in the Tram line. This is at least a five-tram wait.

I do wish that I had a record of some of the mayhem that took place on the Can-Am. This trail was like a siren of the deeps, luring unsuspecting skiers with promises of sun-baked goodness. Underneath a thin veil of angel dust lurked the glacial results of Jay's hardworking snowmakers. JJ and I skied it both Friday and Saturday. On Friday's run, I used the high-speed sideslip to navigate between snow islands. Saturday, a more conservative approach was employed: I found the sugar piled up on skier's right, and, channeling my inner Sylvain Saudan, hop-turned down the steep part. Honestly, it was quite fun but I did feel sorry for the poor folks we witnessed belly-sliding the pitch, and was relieved that they were unhurt. Another part of March break break madness - lots of folks going where they shouldn't be.

Like the mullet hairstyle of times gone by, Stateside is all business in the front...

In other news, the lucky folks with lockers at Stateside Lodge received a memo from on high: clear your locker out by April 2, demolition day is April 8. Like the demolition of Hotel Jay, this will mark the end of an era. Despite the smelly washrooms, many long-time Jay skiers have a soft spot for the shingle clad relic of the 60s and I, for one, will be a little sad to see it go. But not that sad. Can someone save me a shingle?